ASLI BAYKAL 

Aslı is a filmmaker and curator from Istanbul, based in New York. 

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Films

DARKROOM (2023)

At the modern-day crossroads of Turkey and Syria, the neighborhood of Istasyon is taken over by children with cameras. Through their gaze, they transform cinder block villages into portals and roam freely across abandoned train tracks to Sirkhane Darkroom, an oasis of red light and pomegranate trees, where their images are born. Darkroom is an experimental and celebratory portrait of Istasyon’s youth and their capacity to forge an alternate reality within a conflict zone. Embedded in this vibrant 16mm film, a co-creation between the film crew and these photography students is a reverence for the mysterious power and intimacy of analog image-making.



2023 | 14 min | Turkey & US

2023 MoMA Doc Fortnight
2023 Visions Du Reel
2023 Doc Alliance Best Short Doc Nominee 2023 DokuFest
2023 Camden IFF
2023 Ji.hlava
2023 Reykjavik IFF
2024 London Short Film Festival I ICA

Additional Screenings

Now Instant Image Hall LA
Le Cinema Club
Music Documentaries / Videos
SAMPHA at WEBSTER HALL

NICK HAKIM

ANYSIA KYM

NOURISHED BY TIME

DAWUNA

EX REYES 

KAREN O

PRINCESS NOKIA
Curation

AIRTIME ONLINE is an experimental and alternative streaming space hosting newly produced or existing visual projects.

The online platform aims to share what we find inspiring with a global audience while highlighting one work at a time, paying detailed attention to the world created around the work, and storytelling.

Founded in 2018 in NY, Airtime Screening Series has created an interactive communal cinema experience intending to directly introduce filmmakers to their audience. It’s a space for filmmakers at different career levels and backgrounds to show work independent from institutions. It is a public platform-championing accessibility in art.

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About

Aslı Baykal is a Turkish visual artist and film curator. She studied film at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After graduating, her short documentary called Cherry, about a woman dealing with the public hospital system after falling off a cherry tree in the outskirts of Istanbul participated in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner. Her work is expressed in films and photographs, ranging from documentaries to magical realism in fiction. Her work addresses layered social issues and collective histories embedded in personal journeys using a sense of humor that highlights the subject instead of disguising its gravity. 

For commercial work, please get in touch.